The etymology of the term is unclear and disputed. One possibility is that it comes from "Pomp" (i.e. ornamentation), claimed in Skeat & Skeat's A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language (ISBN 9781596050921), and another is that it refers to the sound made by the foot moving inside the shoe when dancing, suggested as a probable source in Chambers's etymological dictionary (James Donald - Published by W. and R. Chambers, 1867). The Oxford English Dictionary claims that it appeared in the 16th century, and lists its origin as "obscure". It has also been linked to the Dutch pampoesje, possibly borrowed from Javanese "pampus", ultimately from Persian (papush) / Arabic (babush) (International archives of ethnography: Volume 9 - Intern. Gesellschaft für Ethnographie; Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch Indië - Ter Lands-drukkerij, 1870).